


One

by marzichan



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: AU, M/M, Superstuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-05
Updated: 2012-03-05
Packaged: 2017-11-01 08:13:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/354249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marzichan/pseuds/marzichan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jake tries to fuse the two loves of his life. Unfortunately, it doesn't go as planned. Superstuck AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Superstuck is a Homestuck AU based in a world where supervillains and superheroes are a common sight. In this AU, Jake is both a supervillain called General Terror and the son of the infamous Lord English. You can find out more by visiting [this page.](http://generalterror.tumblr.com/faq) This story was originally posted [here](http://generalterror.tumblr.com/post/15393548160/although-it-took-you-a-long-time-to-figure-out) on Tumblr.

Although it took you a long time to figure out your feelings, you have finally figured out where you stand: you _lust_ for The Tailorbird, but you _love_ your loyal henchman Otto. However, you never thought you could possibly find a way to unite the two. Until today.

“Are you ready, Otto?” You murmur his name tenderly, brushing your fingers over his shoulder even if he can’t quite ‘feel’ the gesture. Hopefully that will all change soon. “You don’t have to go through with this, you know. If you, erm, well, believe my contraption would fail you, perhaps it’s better we don’t risk it.”

But you can’t deny that you _want_ to do this, desperately so. You want to hijack your nemesis’s body and replace his mind with that of the robot you love. It’s a despicable plan, yes, but you are a villain. Being evil is kind of in your job description.

“I trust you. The sooner this is done, the better. No?” He watches you as you prepare to transfer his mind to your latest gadget, completely unwavering in his devotion. He’s always believed in you, even if no one else did.

“Yeah.” The words, no matter how tinny-sounding, send a burst of warmth flowing from your heart down to the tips of your fingers and toes. You really do love him, of this you are sure. “It won’t be long until we can truly be together, Otto.” You lean in and kiss his cold metal lips. “Just hang on a little longer.” Soon he will be human.

You deactivate his robotic body, downloading his consciousness from the form you’re used to into the tiny device you’ve built to perpetuate your diabolical scheme.

It’s about the size of a quarter, surprisingly small for something so complex. You’ve poured all your heart and soul into this project, sure you could make your dream a reality. The ‘cap’ at the top hides the needle-like apparatus, which juts out impudently behind it when activated. Now all you need is to get a hold of The Tailorbird.


	2. Chapter 2

Ironically, you didn’t even have to track him down. Instead, you let him come to you. You just caused a little ruckus in town, waving around a ray gun and threatening to knock over the local gun shop for the third time this month, he appeared soon afterward to shut you down.

Whether or not he takes your claim of being his nemesis seriously, it seems the chapter of the local Hero’s League does, because he’s usually the only hero that gets on your case. They assign him to handle you since he’s proven time and time again that he’s fit for the task, and you’re glad of that for once. It makes him easy to lure out of hiding.

There’s the usual song and dance, of course. You bluster, he quips in return, and then you fight. Too bad he doesn’t know that you’re truly motivated today, a determination that you’ve never really felt before filling your limbs. You’re going to come out victorious, no matter what.

And you do. You see the exact moment the tide turns, because his eyes widen slightly behind those orange goggles just before you slam him down against the cement. He’s stunned, briefly, but you follow up your attack immediately with phase two of your plan: using the device. You slip it out of its small protective case, retrieving it from your pocket.

You straddle him to more easily reach the spot you need from the specific angle you have to insert it, but before he can get his breath back enough to make a mean joke about there being easier ways to ride his dick, you jab the device into the soft flesh at the base of his skull, point first.

He freezes when you first insert the mind-jacking device, a sharp intake indicating that the procedure was painful. Oh well. It will be over soon enough! It’s too late to stop you now.

After all, the mind is like a computer. Flesh or circuits, does it truly matter? You’re about to put the question to the test, because if this works the way you hope it does, the device will ‘upload’ Otto’s consciousness into The Tailorbird’s body.

He begins to thrash, desperately trying to yank out the implant at the back of his head, but you pin down his body with your own. You won’t let him pull it out, not until this is all over; it should be removed in your lab just to be safe anyway. Besides, by then, he won’t be _Tailorbird_ anymore; he’ll be the Strider you love.

You murmur soothingly as his frenzied struggles begin to calm, anticipation burning like a fire in your veins as you wait for him to say your name. He’s panting, sweaty and exhausted, but finally his glazed orange eyes find your face.

“Otto?” You gently touch his cheek, leaning over him.

“Eng—” He falters, starting to say your last name, only to squint up at you as if he mistook you for someone else. “…Jake?” His uncertainty is obvious. This is the first time you’ve ever seen his expressions without the usual layers of bullshit obscuring their true meaning.

“Yes, it’s me.” You smile down at him, so happy you think your heart might burst. You did it! You finally defeated your nemesis, Otto gets a shot at being human, AND you can even turn this into a boost for your villainous reputation! After all, to everyone else it will seem like you turned a hero to the side of evil. You are such a genius for coming up with this plan. “We won, okay? It’s over now.” You caress his cheek softly, ready to lean in for a triumphant kiss, but his eyes suddenly roll back in his head. He passes out before you can say anything else. Oh. Drat.

Still, you can’t blame him for losing consciousness. You’re sure it’ll take him time to fully assimilate and adjust to this new body. Hehe, your Otto, no longer a copy but now the real Strider. Although you suppose you can’t call Otto anymore. Would it be too weird to use the Tailorbird’s real name? You suppose you can always call him ‘Strider’ for now, a compromise until you decide together what to do. You cling off of him and pull his arm over your shoulder, dragging his unconscious body off of the ground.

You half-carry him back to your base, whistling the whole way home. Once he wakes up again, you’ll be there to help him explore this new body. Hopefully he made the transition without too much difficulty, but even if he didn’t you’ll help him work through it. He’s still your henchman, of course, since it would be unseemly for a villain to date a hero.

You can’t wait to see his smile.


	3. Chapter 3

You’ve never been happier in your whole life. Never, not even the day you first moved out of your father’s mansion into your own lair. He’s _yours_ , by golly, and you’re the luckiest villain in the world.

You know he’s still adjusting. Sometimes he says or does something that reminds you way too much of The Tailorbird, which usually makes you uneasy, but the moment passes and soon he’s the Otto you know and love again. Things are simply amazing between the two of you now.

For instance, you never realized how uncomfortable it was to cuddle up to a robot until you had the opportunity to make a comparison with a flesh-and-blood human. Movie nights are now an even more glorious experience than they used to be, despite the fact he puts more of an effort into dissing your movies than you ever remember him doing before. Still, a little whining can’t erase how great you feel when you press your cheek to his chest; he always slips his arm around you whenever you snuggle up to his side, and eventually the two of you fall asleep like that together.

He can actually kiss you back now, his lips warm and pliant under your own, and you’ve haven’t gotten any real work done in days because you keep abandoning your projects to plop yourself in his lap instead. You could spend hours brushing butterfly kisses over his ridiculous assortment of freckles, watching his gaze slowly heat up with desire as you drift lower and lower on his body. You almost feel like you should tease him for having so many freckles, but the truth is that they are a delight to you.

You love him, and he loves you. What more could you ask for?

Lately he’s made some noises that he needs to leave the lair, that he wants to go back to The Tailo—er, _his_ apartment to pick up some things. You don’t mind, so you agree, letting him leave unescorted. After all, you trust him.

He doesn’t return until late that night, a bag full of his old possessions stuck under his arm, and when you ask him if he needs to make a second trip back to the apartment tomorrow he just looks at you strangely and shakes his head.

He brought an odd puppet back with him, and you can’t say you’re fond of it. You don’t like that he always keeps it by his workstation now, and at night he takes it up to your room before he climbs into bed with you. The puppet’s wild blue eyes make you uncomfortable. You feel like you’re being _watched._

You bade him to leave the puppet—Lil’ Cal, or some rubbish like that—downstairs where it belongs. He spends the following night on the couch, and when you try to urge him to join you upstairs he brushes you off.

You don’t sleep well that night.

More and more oddities continue to surface. Although he hasn’t yet donned his old heroic costume, he doesn’t seem to have much enthusiasm for your evil projects either. Instead, he dives himself into his own private work, using both the tools and spare parts around the lair to experiment. He won’t tell you what he’s trying to create, but one afternoon you catch him dismantling the bunny-bot Equius built.

It’s like a blow to the gut to see something you loved so much—thanks to Otto’s former use of the small body—being reduced to pieces. You confront him, upset, but you only get that strange look again before he tells you he’s merely learning how it works. He has it rebuilt by the end of the day, looking sleeker and functioning even better than before.

It has a mind of its own now. Apparently that is also his doing, because you catch it running errands for him. It even blocks your way the next time you try to enter the room he has designated as his ever since you criticized his stupid little puppet, refusing to obey your direct command to stand aside. You walk away feeling sick, betrayed, and never more glad that you locked away Otto’s old body. You shudder to think what he might re-purpose it for now.

You just wish you could understand why he’s locking you out.

There’s no more kisses. No more cuddles. Movie nights now consist of you alone, huddled up on the couch, unable to enjoy any of your favorite films. You swear some days he seems to have nothing but disdain for you, or maybe even disgust, and he waves away any attempt you make to talk to him about the changes in his personality.

He’s acting almost like The Tailorbird again, only worse, as if you had been foolish enough to invite that asshole to live with you and use your resources for his own purposes.

One day you wake up to find Equius gone. He had been an observer to the changing dynamics between the two of you, unwilling to interfere because he felt it wasn’t his place, but at least with him in the lair you didn’t feel completely alone. Strider apparently told him he could have a week’s leave, claiming the command to take a vacation came directly from you. Or at least that’s what the message you find on your phone indicates, since Equius thanked you fervently for your generosity and promised to be back within a week.

The lair feels so empty.


	4. Chapter 4

You make one last attempt to revive your failing relationship, deciding it’s now or never. What better time to whip up a little romance than when you’re alone with the love of your life? And who knows? Maybe he’s merely been working on a surprise for you all this time. Ha ha, wouldn’t that be a hoot? You were worrying for nothing! It must be a pretty elaborate gift if it’s taken him weeks to build it.

At least that’s what you tell yourself.

You spend the entire day striving to be optimistic as you set up the most romantic date you can imagine. Granted, it’s mostly movie cliches, but you still do your best. There’s the candles, the sweet background music, a spaghetti dinner—which you made yourself, after some trial and error—and even a little surprise gift for the end. It’s perfect. It can’t go wrong!

You head up to his room, but as you approach the door the rabbot suddenly appears. You think he calls it Lil’ Seb or something else uncomfortably close to that damned puppet’s name, but you’re not sure. You don’t care. You just want to get his attention.

Unfortunately, the bot doesn’t let you pass. It’s not even gracious about it, which is extra aggravating. Tch. Fine! You’ll get his attention the old-fashioned way: you start yelling at him through his door.

Eventually, he comes out, if only to shut you up. You grin sheepishly, explaining that if only he didn’t set the rabbot’s parameters to keep you out as well as any intruders you would have gladly gone about this much more quietly. He seems unimpressed with your excuse, but you hardly notice. Your heart is racing, your cheeks are blushing, and when you look at him you still feel that same rush of love and tenderness that you’ve always felt for Otto Strider.

He informs you that he set those parameters on purpose. You’re the only person he wants to keep out of his room. You wink at him—which does manage to startled him, albeit briefly—and assure him that you won’t peek into his room. You just want him to come downstairs with you.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, he complies. You discreetly turn on the mood music and open the door to the dining area, gesturing with a proud little “Ta-da!” He takes one look at the romantically-themed table, what with its candles and spaghetti dinner, and then looks at you like you’re the worst scum of the Earth.

“I would appreciate it if, in the future, you refrain from wasting my time with stupid shit like this.” His words are cold, but his eyes are even colder. At least that’s what you assume, since you can’t see past those black spiky shades he always wears. His response cuts your optimism to pieces, dimming your smile.

“But— _Otto_ —”

“Don’t call me that.” He interrupts you, sharply, and turns to leave. “Look, English. Just give it up. A relationship never work between us, and you know it.” He heads back upstairs without a backward glance.

You’re not sure what comes first: your tears or the breaking of your heart.


	5. Chapter 5

In the end, you’ve retreated to the one bastion of comfort you have left. Movies won’t help you now, and Otto—no, he’s not Otto anymore. Your experiment was a failure. Your question? Finally answered.

You guess a copy can’t beat out the original after all, because Otto is gone and The Tailorbird is all that remains.

It doesn’t matter. You can’t get him back now. How stupid you were, to think you could ever have it all. To think you could give Otto the humanity he always sought! Perhaps you did, for a time.

Perhaps he was happy. You were too.

But now you can’t help but wish you had kept him as a robot all along. You return to the place you secreted away his old body, to keep it in storage in appreciation of the way Otto had been ‘born’. You thought it would be fun to look back on it some years from now, when the city was yours and you had your faithful lover to thank. Together, the two of you should have been unstoppable.

You key in the correct password to the protected vault and step inside to visit all that remains of the Strider you loved.

“Hey there, old chap…” Your voice breaks half-way through the word ‘chap’. You sniffle, pausing only to rub away your latest tears on your sleeve before you disable the shields meant to keep Otto’s old robot body from rusting.

You pull the stiff android from the storage box, lacking the strength to drag him far without the aid of Equius. You force him into a sitting position by the closest wall—whispering broken tear-filled apologies because you’re so _sorry_ you failed him—and settle down beside him, pulling the green expanse of your cape over the both of you like a blanket.

You rest your cheek against his cold unyielding chest, closing your eyes against your tears as you wish, not for the first time today, that you’d had the foresight to back up Otto’s databases and core personality before you attempted your cocky stunt. Unfortunately, you were used to thinking of him as a person, so backing up his data never occurred to you until it was far too late.

“I’m back, Otto.” You whisper the words, lightly brushing your gloved fingertips over the faded green paint on his chest. He’d once worn your symbol proudly. “I’ll always love you, you know that, right? Even if I’m a stupid fool who never deserved you or your devotion.” If only you could tell him how sorry you are. But turning on the robot and watching him sit there, empty, would be even worse than keeping him deactivated.

“I miss you so much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A sequel written by Tumblr user pavaal can be found [here](http://the-tailorbird.tumblr.com/post/15416106677/generalterror-although-it-took-you-a-long-time). Alternatively, [this](http://paste.plurk.com/show/D3YqJCOzh2yDjdoeAlAY/) is easier on the eyes.


End file.
